1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fastener having a structure which helps to distinguish whether a fastener such as a slide fastener, a surface fastener and a snap fastener is genuine or false.
2. Description of the Related Art
The fastener includes a slide fastener, a surface fastener, a snap fastener and the like, which are widely used to fix mating members detachably in various kinds of clothes, small articles such as bags, and large structures such as tents and pavilions. A large number of imitation fasteners having an equal brand indication have been produced and marketed at cheaper prices, because the fastener is versatile and its demand is high. Part of the imitation fasteners are attached to various kinds of products such as clothes and those products having the imitation fastener are often dealt with in distribution channels of the products.
As processing technology and manufacturing technology for fabric products advance and quality of raw material intensifies, the imitation product comes to closely resemble the genuine product, and the imitation product cannot be easily identified from the genuine product in many cases. As a result, a large number of imitation products are dealt with and sold through the same distribution channel without being identified from the genuine products, so that the share of the genuine products in the market drops, and manufacturers of the genuine products are threatened seriously.
Currently, the manufacturers have made efforts to distinguish genuine products from imitation products by marking their brand marks in the slider portion of the slide fastener or in peripheral portions of the snap fastener or by weaving their brand marks into part of the tape constituting the fastener. Moreover, they have requested national governments to regulate such imitation products.
Despite these efforts and activities, the number of imitation products does not decrease and manufacturers of the imitation products have produced imitation products resembling the genuine products more closely by using the brand names without any permission and marking them thereon.
As means for distinguishing the genuine product from the imitation product, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 13-211913, for example, has disclosed a slide fastener which can be identified from the imitation product. According to the slide fastener disclosed in this publication, a filament yarn, which is formed by mixing inorganic fluorescent material into high polymer raw material and fusing and spinning said raw material, is employed as an identification yarn and this identification yarn is woven in a cloth tape as a warp yarn when the cloth tape of this slide fastener is woven. Although this identification yarn does not emit light against irradiation of sunlight or fluorescent light, the fluorescent material in the identification yarn emits light if excitation light of 254 nm or 365 nm, which is the wavelength of black light, is applied to the slide fastener. The genuine product can be distinguished from the imitation product by weaving this identification yarn into the genuine slide fastener as its warp yarn.
However, the slide fastener described in the same publication requires black light belonging to ultraviolet as a light source for making inorganic luminescent substance emit light. Moreover, ultraviolet rays need to be irradiated all over the slide fastener in order to detect existence of the identification yarn, because the position of the identification yarn in the slide fastener is not specified. Ultraviolet rays are said to be a factor of skin cancer, thus exposure to ultraviolet rays for a long time is harmful for the health even if it is for inspection for discriminating between the genuine and imitation products, and the working environment is deteriorated. Furthermore, the identification yarn may emit light under the sunlight because it contains a great deal of ultraviolet rays, so that the manufacturers of the imitation products recognize existence of the identification yarn.
Moreover, when a dye with a fluorescent color is used for dyeing the tape, the entire tape reacts to ultraviolet rays when ultraviolet rays are irradiated to the tape. Therefore, a detecting means substituting for ultraviolet rays is demanded.
An object of the present invention is to prevent reaction of the entire tape to irradiated ultraviolet rays and provide a fastener which can be distinguished from a closely imitated product without using ultraviolet rays which harm the human health.
According to the present invention, at least one identification yarn is disposed at no fewer than one specified position in a tape composing a genuine fastener, so that the identification yarn can be detected when the tape is irradiated with infrared ray of a specific wavelength, though existence of the identification yarn cannot be recognized in an ordinary state such as under visible light.
That is, the basic structure of the present invention is a fastener such as a slide fastener, a surface fastener, or a snap fastener, which comprises said identification yarn for distinguishing a genuine fastener from a false one by irradiating at least a specified part of a tape composing said fastener with infrared rays with a specific wavelength.
In the tape composing the genuine slide fastener such as the slide fastener, surface fastener and snap fastener of the present invention, said identification yarn is used as part of the composing yarns of the knitted or woven tape. Said tape is a common composing member of all these fasteners and has an identifying portion. Therefore, despite structural difference of each fastener, genuine fasteners can be distinguished from imitation ones accurately in all above-mentioned fasteners.
Substance having a spectral characteristic under irradiation with infrared ray of a specific wavelength, said characteristic different from under white light, or substance emitting infrared rays when irradiated with infrared rays is contained in said identification yarn. As a result, existence of the identification yarn can be detected easily through characteristic change of the substance contained in said identification yarn when infrared rays of a specific wavelength are irradiated.
When the tape constituting the slide fastener, surface fastener or snap fastener is dyed, for example, white, white fluorescent dye is generally used so as to make the white color clear. Thus, when said identification yarn which emits color when irradiated with ultraviolet rays is used, if the tape is dyed with the fluorescent dye, the tape itself emits color because the fluorescent dye contains substance which emits the color when irradiated with ultraviolet rays. Consequently, the identification yarn cannot be detected. However, according to the present invention, the substance which reacts not to irradiation of ultraviolet rays but to infrared rays of a specific wavelength is contained in said identification yarn. Thus, even if the tape is dyed with fluorescent dye, said identification yarn can be identified definitely.
Preferably, the tape is a woven tape whose component yarns are a plurality of warp and weft yarns. Said identification yarn is a warp yarn, and repeats a cycle of intersecting and running above one or two weft yarns and then intersecting and running below one or two weft yarns. If said identification yarn intersects and runs above or below three or more weft yarns, the identification yarn floats from a surface of the tape so as not to be fixed to the tape securely. Thus, the number of the weft yarns which said identification yarn intersects is preferably one or two.
The above-described structure can minimize the amount of the expensive identification yarn to be used. Thus, increase in production cost of the fastener by using expensive identification yarns as part of the component yarns of the tape can be held down. Further, because said identification yarn is fixed to the tape securely and the ratio of exposure of the identification yarn from the surface is increased, existence of the identification yarn can be easily recognized from the surface of the tape when irradiated with infrared rays.
Additionally, as for the intersection between said identification yarn and the weft yarn, the number of the weft yarns intersecting and running above/below said identification yarn may be changed properly. For example, the identification yarn can intersect and run above two weft yarns, then below one weft yarn, above one weft yarn and then below two weft yarns. By changing the number of the weft yarns intersecting and running above/below the identification yarn, a pattern may be formed or the weaving pattern of the identification yarn may be used for transmitting information as Morse code does. By properly changing the number of the weft yarns intersecting and running above/below said identification yarn, the identification yarn can be used not only to distinguish the genuine product from a false one but also to indicate the place or date of the production of the tape.
Furthermore, the above-mentioned tape is a knitted tape whose component yarns are plural kinds of warp knitting yarns, and said identification yarn may be a warp in-laid yarn inserted along a chain-stitch knitting yarn, a chain-stitch knitting yarn, or a tricot-stitch knitting yarn. The amount of the identification yarn to be used can be minimized as in the above-described woven tape. Thus, increase in production cost of the fastener by using an expensive identification yarn as part of the component yarns of the tape can be held down. Further, because said identification yarn is fixed to the tape securely and the ratio of exposure of the identification yarn from the surface is increased, existence of the identification yarn can be easily recognized from the surface of the tape when irradiated with infrared rays.
Preferably, said specified position is adjacent to a leg portion end of an element row of the slide fastener, the identification yarn is a warp yarn or a warp knitting yarn and is disposed continuously along the position adjacent to the leg portion end. In this way, the position of said identification yarn is specified in the slide fastener. Therefore, when searching for existence of the identification yarn by irradiating with infrared rays of a specific wavelength, the infrared ray does not have to be projected to the entire tape, and existence of the identification yarn can be recognized easily. Further, since said identification yarn is disposed near the elements, even after the slide fastener is sewed to clothes, the identification yarn is not covered by fabric of the clothes so that the identification yarn can be recognized easily.
Preferably, said identification yarn is dyed the same color as that of the other component yarns of the tape. If said identification yarn is dyed the same color as that of other weaving yarns or knitting yarns composing the tape, existence of the identification yarn woven or knitted in the tape cannot be recognized apparently. Consequently, weaving or knitting of the identification yarn cannot be imitated even if an imitation product is manufactured to precisely resemble the genuine product. Therefore, discrimination between the genuine product and the imitation product can be carried out accurately. Particularly, if a weaving or knitting pattern of the identification yarn is specified, forgery becomes more difficult. Furthermore, depreciation of the commodity value of the fastener due to apparent existence of the identification yarn is avoided because existence of the identification yarn cannot be recognized apparently.
In a tape in the surface fastener, said identification yarn can be a part of yarns used as hook-like or loop-like engaging elements. In the surface fastener, an engaging element yarn, which is a tape-component yarn, is used for the identification yarn and erects from a tape surface. Consequently, infrared rays can be irradiated to the yarn easily, and existence of the yarn can be recognized smoothly.
Preferably, said identification yarn contains substance which emits a color different from surrounding components when irradiated with infrared rays. Since the identification yarn emits a color different from the surrounding components when irradiated with infrared ray, existence of the identification yarn can be explicitly recognized by the eyes. In addition, said identification yarn can contain substance which emits infrared rays when irradiated with infrared rays. Since the identification yarn emits infrared rays when irradiated with infrared rays, if, for example, a device which beeps at the same time when an infrared sensor detects infrared rays is used, existence of the identification yarn can be explicitly recognized by hearing.